3/5 A rare historical document of absolutely no merit as entertainment, but the name Erik Bruhn tempted me.
  by J. Faulk (New York NY USA)
[...]
In 1948 choreographer Leonide Massine opted to notate his staging of this Berlioz symphony by photographing the full stage width during a run-through. Dancers are in leotards and the five different backdrops are available. No soundtrack was made of the rehearsal piano (the Liszt transcription has now been added). The five scenes follow the composer's scenario: A love-sick musician takes opium to die but instead hallucinates, repeatedly but momentarily seeing his beloved, till he dreams he kills her, is executed, and is enveloped by sorcerers and monsters. The dancers' faces are unrecognizable, some of their balletic work ambiguous. Superimposed titles have been added to guide the viewer. You can select Angle 1 for full stage or Angle 2 for half stage (very grainy).

On the case front the production photo of the two leads affirms that the Massine production was costume heavy. The documented choreography affirms that it was pantomimic and lacked vigor, with no one permitted to dance more than a few phrases before being whisked off. The stage is often overcrowded.

Oh, there are so many wonderful dance DVDs available now! Spend your money on these.

1/5 Truly Horrible. As Bad As It Comes.
  by Rick (Detroit, MI)
In general, I really value what Video Artists International (VAI) has been doing lately of releasing so many great historical ballet performances. I've been fortunate to build up a large collection of ballet dvds and videos over the years, and I have many offerings from VAI that are very special to me. I enjoy watching many of them over and over. It's such a treat to be able to watch the great artists of yesteryear, such as Maximova and Vasiliev, or Maya Plisetskaya that I'm willing to put up with substandard video quality & sound to be able to watch a historical performance. I'm reluctant to criticize VAI, but this product is not acceptable, and quite frankly I cannot imagine how they thought that it would be well received by the public. Yes, the video is poor. But, the problem lies much deeper. It's simply bad ballet. I cannot envision anyone enjoying this.

Like the previous viewer, I bought this title because of the opportunity to see Erik Bruhn. If you purchase this for that reason, I think that you will come away very disappointed.

Honestly, I could not wait for this video to end. I had to watch it over several days because I had such a burning desire at the end of each chapter to put some good ballet in the DVD player to watch instead! This is horrible, and quite frankly I cannot see myself watching it ever again.

1/5 SHELF THEM: RECORDINGS THEY DESERVE TO BE THE SHELF MUFFLED
  by Ali Hassan AYACHE (São Paulo, Brasil.)
The stamp will make a work of archeology. Unearth rarities from opera and ballet and inaccessible places on the market. But not everything that is old is synonymous with quality.

Symphonie Fantastique is one of the most important and revolutionary works of Hector Berlioz. Producers forget to quote on the cover name of the composer. The name of the choreographer Leonide Massine and the Royal Danish Ballet are in there and seem to be more important.

The music is presented in piano reduction. The original recording of 1948 has no sound, tried to synchronize the music of piano and dance. The result is strange, you lose all the melodic richness of Symphonie Fantastique.

The choreography is odd and nothing like the work of Berlioz. Music and dance one side to another. Often uncoordinated, dancers seem to School samba.Os costumes are test pieces of everyday life, are funny and clash of all.

Symphonie Fantastique reports an artist who tries to commit suicide with opium. Frustrated by unrequited love. But the dose is not enough to kill him, and he's going to delirium. Hallucinations, feelings and memories are translated into real music with a recurring theme. The choreography does not show the psychological complexity of the work. The piano reduction weakens the plot and the costumes are amateurs.

People, Shelves in them. This deserves to be burned with the worst quality opium.
Ali Hassan Ayache

O selo VAI faz um trabalho de arqueologia. Desenterra raridades da ópera e do balé inacessíveis e os coloca no mercado. Mas nem tudo que é antigo é sinônimo de qualidade.

Symphonie Fantastique é uma das mais importantes e revolucionárias obras de Hector Berlioz. Os produtores se esquecem de citar na capa o nome do compositor. O nome do coreografo Léonide Massine e do Royal Danish Ballet estão na lá e parecem ser mais importantes.

A música é apresentada em redução para piano. A gravação original de 1948 está sem som , tentaram sincronizar a música do piano com a dança. O resultado é estranho, perde-se toda a riqueza melódica da Symphonie Fantastique.

A coreografia é esquisita e não lembra em nada o trabalho de Berlioz. Música de um lado e dança para o outro. Muitas vezes descordenados, parecem passistas de escola de samba.Os figurinos são peças de ensaio do dia a dia, ficam engraçados e destoam de tudo.

Symphonie Fantastique relata um artista que tenta se suicidar com ópio. Frustrado pelo amor não correspondido. Mas a dose não é o suficiente para matá-lo, e ele vai ao delírio. Alucinações , sensações e lembranças reais são transpostas para a música com um tema recorrente. A coreografia não mostra a complexidade psicológica da obra. A redução para piano enfraquece o enredo e os figurinos são amadores.

Amigos, Prateleira Neles. Esse merece ser queimado com ópio da pior qualidade.
Ali Hassan Ayache

5/5 Must have for ballet aficionados!
  by WRP (Palm Harbor, FL United States)
Briefly, it is a miracle that we can view one of Massine's ballets! If you "know" ballet and the Royal Danish stars, you will love this DVD. Where else can one view the famous stars of the Royal Danish in their youth dancing major roles: Fredbjorn Bjornson, Henning Kronstam, Toni Lander, Kirsten Ralov, Frank Schaufuss, Stanley Williams, Mona Vangsaae (the only film I know of this prima ballerina is of her in the mime role of the Mother in Napoli), Niels Bjorn Larsen. Of course, one also gets the young Erik Bruhn in minor roles of a shepherd and Third Monster before he progressed to be one of the steady stars at ABT in the '60's. The print is very clear, and the surtitles are useful--identifying the lead dancers, the roles they were portraying, and where they are on the stage. Obviously the film was not made as a finished product and was intended as an educational tool to help someone re-create the ballet. I did find the dancing expressive in an older style (the Fokine story-ballet tradition)(why would I want to see close-ups of a dancer's or an opera singer's face?!)in the very very complicated and technically demanding choreography. This is a must-have for ballet aficionados! The synchronization of the film with the piano accompaniment is perfect. (If you think playing Liszt's piano transcription is easy....Bravissimoo, pianist William Hicks!)